Silver Lining
by Ani-maniac494
Summary: In 1953, Mick and Coraline manage to find a little peace during Christmas. One-Shot.


Spoilers: Set pre-series, so no real spoilers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight, but I'll happily keep Mick and Coraline if no one wants them. :)

A/N: This fic was originally written for a Christmas challenge on Moonlightaholics, Champagne Challenge #161 Silver. The challenge was first issued back in 2014, and I started writing this fic then, but I could never seem to finish it. I wound up inspired to give it another look this year, though, and finally completed it. I'm a few days late posting it here on FF.N, but hope you enjoy it!

As always, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for his incredible mercy and grace and his many blessings. I would be utterly lost without him.

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 **Silver Lining**

 _1953_

Mick stood in front of the picture window in the foyer, watching as a thin blanket of white covered the yard outside. Snow was rare in Los Angeles; it had snowed only once or twice that he could remember. But this year, it seemed, they were in for a white Christmas - as white as Christmases ever got in L.A., at least.

Mick wasn't sure how he felt about that.

When he was growing up, his Uncle Harry had owned a cabin in the mountains, and he'd always invited the rest of the family up there for the holidays. Snow had been pretty much a guarantee, and Mick had enjoyed it. But then had come the war, and the Battle of the Bulge.

He'd never looked at snow the same way again.

Still, Mick supposed, snowy weather was practically the equivalent of a summer's day for a vampire. It couldn't hurt him now. Not much could. A soft, bitter snort escaped, and he was close enough to the window that he half-expected it to fog up from the warmth of his breath, but of course it didn't. He wondered if he would ever get used to that…if he would ever really get used to this life. If it could be called a life at all.

A little over a year in, and it still felt so surreal.

"Mick?"

Mike didn't bother turning around - he didn't have to. He could see Coraline's reflection in the glass; she'd changed out of the cardigan and slacks she'd worn earlier, and into a dark green halter dress that hugged her waist. He wondered what she was up to this time - she never dressed that way without a reason.

He didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"I have a surprise for you."

Mick had learned to hate those words from her, but when she walked over to his side and took his hand, he didn't resist. He just didn't see the point. He rarely saw the point these days.

She tugged gently at his wrist, leading him to the den, but she stopped when they reached the entryway. Her expression was expectant as she waited for him to take in the room, and when he did, he couldn't help staring.

Coraline had decorated for Christmas.

Red and green garlands topped the fireplace mantle, and stockings hung just a little below that. The banister of the staircase had boughs of pine curling around it, and a large wreath had been hung on the wall. A tree even stood in the corner…a tree covered in silver. Silver garlands wrapped it from top to bottom, and silver tinsel and silver ornaments dangled from the branches.

Mick blinked, then looked from the tree to Coraline and back again.

"Feeling perverse?" he asked dryly.

Coraline's lips quirked, and she gave a small shrug. "I've always liked the _look_ of silver, at least. Besides, the silver ornaments reflect the lights well."

She was right, they did. Reds, greens, blues, and golds glinted merrily from the tree, twinkling faintly.

It was beautiful.

Mick shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around Coraline's reasons for this…whatever they were. "What brought this on?"

"My _maman_ loved Christmas."

Mick looked at Coraline sharply in surprise. Coraline rarely talked about her childhood, and this was the first time she'd ever mentioned her mother…other than to say that she'd died when Coraline was young.

"When I was a little girl," Coraline continued, "every year, _Maman_ would gather all the servants together and set them to work decorating the house. Father let her have her way because he enjoyed showing off…and the house always made a good impression on his dinner guests."

Coraline smiled a bitter smile, but it faded as she looked at the tree once more, and her expression took on a wistful edge.

"He had the servants decorate even after _Maman_ died, but it was never the same. Decorating reminds me of her, I suppose."

"You didn't decorate last year."

"You were still struggling with the change then."

Mick almost scoffed at that - he was still struggling now, and maybe he always would be, even if Coraline refused to see it. But he knew what she meant. His first few months as a vampire had been the hardest, and last Christmas had been a haze of new instincts and terrible, all-consuming hunger.

Now, at least, the hunger was under control, and he was slowly learning to tolerate what he'd become.

Coraline shrugged again. "You're better this year and I thought it might be nice." She looked up at him, gripping his hand a little tighter. "Well?" she pressed. "Do you like it?"

Mick didn't miss the hopeful note in her voice.

A petty part of him was tempted to say no, just because he knew how much it would bother her, but something about the look on her face stopped him, and he nodded instead. "I do," he said honestly.

Coraline smiled, and it wasn't the bitter smile of a moment ago, or even the slow, sultry smile she used to get her way. It a genuine, happy smile…one that chased the centuries from her eyes.

Maybe it was the glow of the lights, or the rich scent of fresh pine that was still lingering in the air.

Maybe it was her dress.

Maybe it was the mistletoe Mick had just spotted, hanging above them in the doorway.

Maybe it was that smile.

Either way, Mick found himself reaching for Coraline, pulling her close and kissing her. The kiss wasn't heated or angry - the only kinds of kisses they had shared lately. This was something different. Something lighter…warm.

Coraline must have felt it too, because when the kiss ended, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and stayed there, her forehead pressed against his.

" _Joyeux Noël_ , Mick," she said softly.

 **Fin**

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A/N: For anyone who might not know, Joyeux Noël means "Merry Christmas" in French. :)

I hope that you had a very merry Christmas, and may you have a wonderful New Year!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494 :)


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